Calls for violence against journalists from the German right-wing news outlets Apollo News and Nius have intensified following attacks on reporters during protests against the Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) party congress in Erfurt.
On Wednesday, July 8th, an anonymous post published on the left-wing extremist platform de.indymedia.org urged supporters to take action against journalists from both publications, as well as against the AfD.
The post, attributed to a group calling itself the ‘Kreuzberg Anarchists,’ described the arrival of “right-wing institutions” in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district as a “declaration of war” and called on local activists to make it impossible for them to operate.
The message included the business addresses of Apollo News and Nius, as well as details about the AfD’s planned federal headquarters.
It encouraged activists to organise locally, monitor where journalists and right-wing political figures spend their time after work, and carry out “diverse actions” against them. The statement concluded with an explicit appeal to make life “hell” for “fascists.”
The post also referred approvingly to assaults on Apollo News reporters during demonstrations in Erfurt last weekend, describing the attacks as an “anti-fascist lesson” delivered with “a few slaps.”
The incitement to violence follows a series of incidents during protests organised by the radical left-wing alliance Widersetzen, which sought to disrupt the AfD’s federal party congress last weekend. More than 31,000 people participated in demonstrations across the Thuringian capital, although the congress ultimately began on schedule under heavy police protection.
Several journalists reported being assaulted while covering the protests. Reporters from Apollo News and the conservative outlet Junge Freiheit were attacked, while a team from Bavarian public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk was also harassed.
Speaking after the demonstrations, Widersetzen spokesperson Noa Sander declined to condemn the attacks. Asked about violence against right-wing journalists, Sander said the alliance had come to Erfurt “to block fascists” and argued that “fascists with press credentials are still fascists.”
The latest online threats come only days after Apollo News reported vandalism at its editorial offices and anti-Apollo posters appearing in the surrounding neighbourhood.
